MEDIA AND MENTAL HEALTH
February 1st 14:05 to 15:05/Chair: Justin Pappoe
This panel is dedicated to navigating the complex interplay between media and mental health. In this group, we delve into the nuanced relationships between various forms of media and mental well-being, with a specific focus on addiction to gaming and social media, social media's glamorisation of drugs, how accurately social anxiety is represented in the media and the promotion of mental illnesses to young people in new digital media.
Kiera Williams
My project is a video essay answering the question: how accurately is social anxiety depicted in the media? I will be looking at how movies, television shows, and other media represent social anxiety disorder. My video essay will try to assess how accurate depictions of social anxiety are in the media. I will also be discussing the theory of social anxiety to show how different theorists view social anxiety.
Kimberly Encarnacion
My project is a dissertation that explores gaming addictions and the psychology of gaming. I will be looking at articles, written works, and statistics that examine the problems with gaming behavior and the negative impacts it can have on the psychological well-being of adolescents.
Millie Mccarthy
My project is a written dissertation answering the following question: “What are the wider implications of addiction to social media, namely TikTok, on Gen-Z and society as a whole?” I will be investigating how tech giants, like Apple, have contributed to social media addiction and what other factors are at play in the increasing number of people suffering from social media addiction. Using both primary research, such as surveys and observations, and secondary research of articles and case studies, I will try to find out what effect social media addiction has on an individual's mental health, and the wider impact of social media on society.
Natasha Henriques
My project will focus on the social and individual impact the internet and social media have had on this generation, contrasting stigmatisation to self-awareness, and touching on the recent surge of mental illness glamourisation in new age media on platforms such as TikTok, and hit TV shows such as ‘Euphoria’. I will be debating the question of whether ‘Mental Illness Is Being Promoted to Young People?’ and studying what effect it is having on the youth of today.
Eyan Ganon
My project will be focusing on both the positive and negative impacts of music on mental health and how much people rely on music throughout everyday life. I will be discussing how much truth there is to statements such as “music affects people’s moods” as well as the theory that music can improve quality of life and psychological thought processes.
Lillian Cowdery
My project will focus on the dynamic relationship between the media and drug use. I will look into how the media portrays drug use and addiction through film, social media, politics, and the internet. I will also be discussing the glamourisation of drug use in the media, as well as the stigma that society has applied to drug use; relating this to the mental health impacts. In addition to this, I will be delving into the topic of legalised pharmaceutical drug use and its wider impact on society.